A New Christmas Tradition. The Way of Lights. The Way of Lights is a mile and a half drive through the shrine’s grounds, which are covered in over a million Christmas lights. Every tree on the property is either draped or wrapped in lights, and along the drive you see electro-art displays that corr... Read the full story

Bowling Alone? Not us. In his book “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community,” Robert Putnam wrote about the decline of American social participation since the 1950’s. As his title indicates, Putnam points to bowling as an example of this decline. The nu... Read the full story

Thanksgiving Blessings!! Merriam-Webster defines Thanksgiving as “the act of giving thanks” while The Random House College Dictionary takes it one step further and defines Thanksgiving as “the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment or benefits or favors, esp. to God.” So... Read the full story

Enjoy a Day Trip to Springfield Illinois Looking for a great day trip that will be memorable without breaking the bank? If you're anywhere near the Central Illinois area, there's a place you should consider that you probably haven't thought about visiting since your 6th grade field trip. Sprin... Read the full story

Enjoy the Season with Your Family Autumn in Illinois is a true treasure. I know that the Land of Lincoln is mostly known for its icy winters, humid summers and crooked politics, but once a year we touch on something wonderful in our lovely fall season. Briskness fills the air. The tree... Read the full story

Planning a Wedding Shower - Think Outside of the Gift Box A few years ago I was asked to plan my sister’s bridal shower. She’s an offbeat gal who lives on the other side of the country and whose hobbies include canyoneering, learning Native American rain dances, and making her own taffy. We don’t have a whole... Read the full story

The Essential Girls’ Getaway It’s no secret – our lives are busier than ever. For those in the professional world, long hours, e-mails, text messages, and conference calls keep us ever struggling to keep up with a constant barrage of correspondence and obligation. For those raising a... Read the full story

Fall Foliage in Full Color!! Because of our work schedule, Dan and I are not always able to take advantage of the numerous fall color drives and festivals (Pike County Fall Color Drive, Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive, Clarksville Applefest and the Louisiana Country ColorFest) that a... Read the full story

Next Stop...Quincy, Illinois!! Next Stop…Quincy, Illinois!! When Gary left for his hunting trip, I thought I might have a couple of weeks to regroup. But oh no! He sends me a text last Sunday morning asking if I could write a blog while he was gone. After a couple of messages ba... Read the full story

The Circus Wedding Came To Heartland This past weekend the lodge was host to a beautiful vintage style wedding. The bride and groom were Paige Tharp and Brad Ruble. They place a big white tent behind the New Lodge and the ceremony chairs were placed beyond the tent. Inside the tent were... Read the full story

Plan Your 2013 Illinois Vacation Now!! How early is too early to plan your vacation for 2013? I’m already thinking of my vacation to Florida with my mom in January & February so I would say that you could definitely start thinking about & planning your 2013 vacation NOW! But the all-importan... Read the full story

Annual Anniversary Trip Has Come and Gone!!! Another year has passed and Dan and I have just returned from our annual anniversary trip to Harpole’s Heartland Lodge – the lodge that we have visited every year since we got married 13 years ago. This year, our actual anniversary was on Tuesday so we a... Read the full story

Summer Internship Update It’s hard to believe that September is already here and that summer is coming to an end. It’s crazy to think about how quickly my internship is passing by and there is no doubt in my mind that the next three months will be as enjoyable as my first three h... Read the full story

Apple Harvest Season is Here!!! As I sit here and write this, the rain from Hurricane Isaac is falling and has been for two days. As much as we desperately need the rain here in the Midwest, it’s really too little, too late to help the farmers and their crops. However, as I was drivin... Read the full story

Begin Planning Your Next Family Reunion Now!! Every now and then, I struggle with a topic to blog about – either because of writer’s block (really???) or because there are too many items to write about. After spending last Friday with some of my family in Quincy, Illinois for a very happy occasion,... Read the full story

2012 Illinois State Fair Begins Thursday! “Family Fun For Everyone!” That is the theme for the 2012 Illinois State Fair, which begins Thursday, August 9 and continues through Sunday, August 19. Think about it – summer is winding down and the kids are getting ready to go back to school (or in so... Read the full story

Here Comes The Bride... …and the groom and the rest of the wedding party! And they’re coming to Harpole’s Heartland Lodge for the perfect destination wedding location! I’ll be honest – I’ve never been to a wedding at the lodge and I sometimes think that had Dan and I learned a... Read the full story

Raging Rivers WaterPark - It's Cool When It's Hot!! On Saturday, Dan and I took part in a family tradition that began approximately 14 years ago – but this tradition included FOUR generations of my family – ranging in age from eight-months to 71 years of age! Believe it or not, we made our annual visit to... Read the full story

Birthday Journey Adventure Well here it is another hot day and it is 100 already with a high supposed to get to 105. Sure glad tomorrow is going to only be in the mid 80s. After a marvelous breakfast with enough food to feed all their horses too, we decided to take a rolling picnic... Read the full story

Our Weekend Getaway is Just Two Months Away!! As Dan & I celebrated the July 4th holiday with some very good friends, I realized that our weekend getaway at Harpole’s Heartland Lodge is just two months away – and I can hardly wait. Our wedding anniversary is September 4 – we will have been married 1... Read the full story